BATON ROUGE - Just over a year after the novel coronavirus pandemic made its way into the state of Louisiana, state and local leaders united to officially mourn the loss of the many precious lives that have been taken by the virus.

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome joined several community leaders during a Tuesday (March 23), 8 a.m. memorial service at the River Branch Library to mark the one-year anniversary of the first person to pass away from COVID-19 in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

The service can be viewed in the Facebook video player below.

Other communities around the state continue to grieve for the many loved ones who passed away due to complications of COVID-19.

On Monday (March 22), according to a news release from Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, the state has officially surpassed 10,000 people who have died from COVID-19, just over a year from when the state recorded its first COVID-19 death; the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed Monday, in its most recent COVID-19 data update, that 10,030 people have died.